Ardent balcony chain smokers - Princess is the line for you!

[CaribNomad]

We've just arrived home from a fabulous 12 night med cruise on Sky Princess that was sadly marred by balcony smoking. The cruise itself, staff, itinerary, food etc was wonderful, but we were forced to endure noxious fumes for all 12 nights/13 days. The smell of cigarettes makes us feel ill - we deliberately choose cabins away from the smoking area. However, we were unlucky enough to be positioned near ardent chain smokers this time (cabin was midship deck 8). Day or night, in port or sea days we were bombarded with the acrid stench of cigarette upon cigarette. We reported the issue umpteenth times to our cabin steward, his supervisor and guest services. Each time, someone came, confirmed they could smell it (on the balcony and inside the cabin if the balcony door had been open for more than a few seconds) and apologised saying there was nothing they could do unless they saw the people cigarette in hand (the suspected offenders didn't open the door when enquiries were made).  We cruise a lot of lines but are diamond on Princess and do see it as our preferred line, but this has really left a sour taste for us.  Offenders seem to know that if they close their cabin door, smoke on the balcony and don't answer the door, they can puff away with impunity. I'm not sure what the solution is, but definitely feel the need to vent.

 

 

 

 

[BlerkOne]

Diamond on Princess?

 

Per the ticket contract:

You agree Carrier has, at all times with or without notice, the right to enter and search Your stateroom, personal safe or storage spaces, or to search You, Your baggage and/or personal effects at any location.

[CaribNomad]

14 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Diamond on Princess?

 

Per the ticket contract:

You agree Carrier has, at all times with or without notice, the right to enter and search Your stateroom, personal safe or storage spaces, or to search You, Your baggage and/or personal effects at any location.

 

I mean Platinum on Princess, Diamond on RCL. Sadly, the room stewards and powers that be were unwilling to search anyone in the offending room (even though they could smell it). Maybe concerned about bad reviews or being complained about? Was a very frustrating situation.

[BamaVol]

47 minutes ago, CaribNomad said:

 

I mean Platinum on Princess, Diamond on RCL. Sadly, the room stewards and powers that be were unwilling to search anyone in the offending room (even though they could smell it). Maybe concerned about bad reviews or being complained about? Was a very frustrating situation.

They don’t seem worried about you posting a complaint here. 
 

i’d love to see Princess’s written response.  You should write them.

[jdacombe]

Apart from the  smell of stale tobacco, I always thought that smoking in your cabin or balcony was considered a fire risk

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

Definitely write. It won't help with your experience and it probably won't get you are compensation (haha!) but it will bring it to the attention of management and may help for future cruises.

 

I have reported smoking before on Sky and it was delt with immediately and didn't happen again so I don't know what happened there. The last big fire on a cruise ship was started by a cigarette on a balcony. Some cruise lines still allow smoking on balconies but not Princess.

 

 

[CaribNomad]

Thanks all, I will write.I wonder if the offenders tipped at the beginning of the voyage and more than us. It's the first time we've had this problem. And we're not looking for compensation - more to vent.

 

Is there a specific email, or do I go via this contact us page: https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/customerCare.page?

 

I also mentioned it whenever I could on the end of cruise feedback form.

Edited October 30, 2023 by CaribNomad

[david63]

Hindsight being the precise science that it is I would have escalated the issue up to the Captain if necessary. The cabin steward must have known that smoking was taking place as the smell would linger in the cabin, and what were they doing with the cigarette butts?

 

At the end of the day this is a major safety issue.

[CaribNomad]

2 minutes ago, david63 said:

Hindsight being the precise science that it is I would have escalated the issue up to the Captain if necessary. The cabin steward must have known that smoking was taking place as the smell would linger in the cabin, and what were they doing with the cigarette butts?

 

At the end of the day this is a major safety issue.

 

We should have. I've actually never complained on a cruise. For future, does one call guest services and then ask them to escalate to senior management? 

[david63]

3 minutes ago, CaribNomad said:

 

We should have. I've actually never complained on a cruise. For future, does one call guest services and then ask them to escalate to senior management? 

Call, or preferably visit, guest services and ask xxx to contact you and then explain the problem to them.

 

Also you can insist that your complaint is logged by guest services. I was once told that anything that is logged is dealt with at the daily senior manager's meeting.

 

If you know who it is that you want to speak with you can always accost them if you see them around the ship.

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Snaxmuppet said:

The last big fire on a cruise ship was started by a cigarette on a balcony.

No, no definitive cause was found for that fire, so it was assumed to be caused by a cigarette, even though in laboratory conditions they were unable to re-enact a fire caused by a cigarette with the available contents on the balcony.  I have fought fires on several ships, including cruise ships, so I am not a fan of smoking on the balconies (for various reasons), but always point this out when the Star Princess fire is brought up regarding cigarettes.  Also, with the changes made subsequently to the Star Princess, a fire is even less likely.

[kywildcatfanone]

This is one of the reasons I avoid balcony cabins.  The smell of smoke can ruin the balcony experience.

[motheroftwocats814]

Blast it on Twitter. You will get a response with a quickness.

[TAW1963]

My DW and I were on the Ruby Princess last spring and on the one evening of the cruise we could smell the very strong odor of cigar smoke on our balcony.  It was obvious where it was coming from (our next door neighbors).  We told our room steward and then walked down to guest services and reported it.  Within a few minutes security knocked on the neighbors door and spoke with them. They called us and informed us that they could smell the strong odor of cigar smoke upon contacting the neighbor and confronted them about it.  They denied it at first, but the security guy said it was obvious where it was coming from and told them if it happened again, they would be fined $250 each.  We did not encounter the smell again.  This may just be just our experience, but Princess did take it very seriously and took care of it.   

 

We are on the Sky Princess late next week for the TA from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale.   I sure hope we don't encounter cigarette smoke.

 

Edited October 30, 2023 by TAW1963

[Bgwest]

7 hours ago, david63 said:

I would have escalated the issue up to the Captain if necessary.

Please enlighten us. 
How exactly would you have (successfully) gone about arranging a meeting with the captain?

[david63]

5 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

Please enlighten us. 
How exactly would you have (successfully) gone about arranging a meeting with the captain?

I did not say a meeting but if necessary I would ask, politely, to speak to the Captain (I believe that any passenger has that right) but in the first instance I would put my complaint in writing to the Captain - have done it before.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

3 hours ago, david63 said:

Hindsight being the precise science that it is I would have escalated the issue up to the Captain if necessary. The cabin steward must have known that smoking was taking place as the smell would linger in the cabin, and what were they doing with the cigarette butts?

 

At the end of the day this is a major safety issue.

Good luck with getting the ear of the captain. Guest Services staff are clearly trained to handle any issues that crop up with passengers. Not sure how you would actually do it.

[Lady Arwen]

I am extremely sensitive to the smell of cigarette smoke and this would make me very unhappy.  If they couldn’t stop the smokers, I would have to camp out in a sofa close to the CS desk.  I’m sure that might get their attention and resolve the situation.  I must say this has only happened to us once on a Celebrity ship and it was taken care of within 15 minutes and never happened again.  Princess needs to step up.  So sorry this impacted your enjoyment of your cruise!

[fsufancc]

The only time I've ever had issue with balcony smoking was on a Princess cruise to Alaska.  Unfortunately, this was when balcony smoking was allowed.  We were in one of the fjords/arms and the ship had slowed to a crawl. Then the smell of smoke.  Two ladies a few decks below were chain smoking. One would light up, then it seemed that when she was done, the other would light up. There was never a break in the smoke.  Mind you this was in a really pristine part of Alaska with crisp fresh air.  Everyone was yelling over the railings at the offenders and they just kept smoking and then started flipping everyone off. 

[BamaVol]

4 hours ago, CaribNomad said:

Thanks all, I will write.I wonder if the offenders tipped at the beginning of the voyage and more than us. 

That’s a cynical reaction and not justified.  Clearly the ball was dropped, at multiple levels. You have no cause to speculate on the reason.

 

You have every reason to be disappointed. And nothing can erase the experience.  So, I hope you get at least a written apology.  And if I were the one writing it, it would come with compensation in some form.

Edited October 30, 2023 by BamaVol

[MissP22]

This had to be caused by a chain smoker(s) in an adjoining cabin. I'm very surprised that the problem couldn't be solved.

We once had a similar situation & it was corrected in 2 days.

[Paula_MacFan]

I'm sorry this happened to you.  We had a similar experience in January on a NCL ship with next door neighbors.  We alerted guest services who sent security repeatedly until they caught them in the act.  They were brazen enough to leave their lighter and makeshift ashtray on the balcony table.  It still took a couple days to catch them in the act.  In retrospect I regretted not just sticking my phone camera up to catch them myself.  It really annoyed me how some people can flaunt the rules and ruin others' vacations.  

 

These same people also had a loud drunken domestic incident which was heard by everyone on decks around us.  Ridiculous.  

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

33 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

That’s a cynical reaction and not justified.  Clearly the ball was dropped, at multiple levels. You have no cause to speculate on the reason.

 

You have every reason to be disappointed. And nothing can erase the experience.  So, I hope you get at least a written apology.  And if I were the one writing it, it would come with compensation in some form.

You say not justified but this exactly what my brother used to do. He would always tip big up front and expect to get favours in return. So in this particular case there may not be any evidence to justify the suggestion but I wouldn't rule it totally out. 🙂 

[JimmyVWine]

I'm surprised that the offenders could not be caught in the act.  All smart phones have cameras built in, and I assume (though I don't know for certain) that CCTV cameras on the ship can capture activities on the balcony. 

[DCThunder]

In my somewhat limited experience, senior officers of the ship can usually be found walking around the public spaces on the ship.  They are certainly available at various events scheduled in the Piazza or elsewhere such as the Elite/Platinum receptions or the Frequent Traveller luncheons. 

 

Buttonhole one of them after/during the event and provide as much information as possible about the smoking events.  Take a picture of the cabin tablet with the names of the guests, or of smoke coming up from the balcony. Even if you can't initially speak to the captain, talking to the Cruise Director or one of the deck officers will get the issue up the chain of command rather quickly, I'd wager.  Or ask to speak to the officer in charge of Guest Services, not one of the 1 stripers who man the desk.  You could also talk to a Security officer and file a security report on fire hazards.  That would get some action.